9 Reasons to Monitor Construction Remotely

Increasing competition, decreasing profitability, and the sheer complexity of large-scale construction projects has made remote construction monitoring a necessity. Here are nine reasons you need to start monitoring your construction site.

9 Benefits of remote construction monitoring:

Dispute Resolution
Theft Prevention
Progress Monitoring
Issue Resolution
Cost Reduction
Audit Trail Creation
Regulatory Compliance
Subcontractor Management
Facilities Management

Why You Should Monitor Your Construction Site

Construction sites are complex operations with multiple moving parts, teams, and dollars on the line. The need for accountability has never been greater, and with so much at stake and so much complexity to manage, many developers have turned to technology to ensure that work is completed on time, and up to code, and that construction teams remain accountable.

Furthermore, remote site monitoring not only allows developers to manage multiple sites efficiently, but it also empowers you to reduce risk, efficiently mediate disputes, verify work, and assure quality from anywhere. In this post, we’ve outlined some of the key ways that construction monitoring platforms can help you to create a more efficient and accountable jobsite across every project in your portfolio.

1. Dispute Resolution

Disputes are an inevitable part of any large-scale construction project. Subcontractors, contractors, and tenants will find themselves at odds over everything from costs, to quality, and completion dates. Providing more visibility and transparency to project stakeholders increases accountability and builds more trust.

Construction monitoring is the best way to ensure that all stakeholders have access to the information they need to monitor progress at every stage of development. Visual documentation at every step guarantees transparency making it less likely that anyone is going to be surprised by an outcome. In the event of a dispute, all parties can review a visual record to determine what went wrong and how to best make corrections, limiting the need for costly disputes.

2. Theft Prevention

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, theft of equipment and materials from construction sites has increased 1% year-over-year for the last six years. One reason for this consistent increase is that on a complex multi-faceted job site it’s difficult to keep track of how tools, equipment, and materials are being used day-to-day, especially when land owners and developers are splitting their time between multiple sites and projects in their portfolio.

Construction monitoring services such as CCTV solutions such as OxBlue allow developers to easily observe their sites from anywhere, and to keep close tabs on how materials and equipment are being put to use. Short of monitoring your site 24/7 via CCTV cameras, a process which requires additional man hours and resources, regular construction monitoring is the best way to spot shortfalls and to notice when key materials go missing or when equipment is unavailable. Enhanced transparency will make on-the-ground teams and subcontractors more accountable for the whereabouts of these key resources that might otherwise be out of sight and not accounted for until a project is completed.

3. Progress Monitoring

Meeting project milestones can mean the difference between completing a project on-time and on-budget and overruns that cost money and delay occupancy. When you are managing multiple projects, seeing the completion of every milestone on every site in person is challenging. With construction monitoring solutions such as OnSIteIQ’s 360° Photo Documentation, you can check on progress in between site visits no matter where you are.This is where construction monitoring services can be a true game-changer for developers and their teams.

Using visual documentation, construction monitoring solutions allow developers to easily confirm when and how work has been completed, from anywhere without the need to visit the site. Time-stamped visual data will allow you to view completed milestones and verify for yourself that they’ve been met on time and meet quality standards. On-site teams are spared the additional effort of reporting and detailed milestone tracking and developers are able to keep them accountable and verify completed work.

4. Issues Resolution

Issues often get worse when they’re left unresolved. A small problem now can lead to much larger and more costly changes later in the life of your project. Construction monitoring services allow developers to spot these issues early before they’re layered over by new construction so that they can be easily corrected before they become less accessible or more entwined with later stages of construction.

By monitoring your site from anywhere and reviewing visual documentation you’ll be able to not only spot these issues but ensure that they’re resolved as quickly as possible in the most efficient and cost-effective way guaranteeing that your on-site teams are accountable for timely changes rather than leaving corrections for later in the life of your project or missing them entirely.

5. Cost Reduction

Traveling to every site in your portfolio for on-the-ground accountability check-ups costs time and money. It’s important to have a hands-on touch, but your hands can only be in so many places at once. Whether it means flying across the country or just driving across town multiple times a day, depending on how widely distributed your properties are. Construction monitoring services offer a way to provide the kind of accountability your teams need when you’re focused on other sites or locations, without the cost and hassle of being on-site at all times.

This is going to be particularly important during these unprecedented times. The coronavirus pandemic has made traveling to sites in person not only costly and time-consuming but also potentially dangerous. The additional restrictions and safety protocols now in place have made travel more expensive as well. Monitoring every site remotely, from wherever you are right now, gives you far greater flexibility and the ability to save on unnecessary travel expenses during this challenging time.

6. Audit Trail Creation

Not every issue is immediately visible. Sometimes problems take time to appear. Creating a visual audit trail that allows you to backtrace this history of every issue is a huge asset in a complex project. By employing construction monitoring tools developers have the ability to audit every facet of your project during the construction process or at any point in the future. Detailed photo documentation at every stage will allow you to monitor the project live and record all the details for future review and audit.

By creating visual documentation to track an issue today, developers provide themselves with a visual record to review tomorrow in case you need to revisit a major project down the line. The statute of repose for construction projects is 12 years, so in order to fully protect yourself, your stakeholders, and your business, you’ll need the ability to retain comprehensive visual data from every project for at least that long in order to defend against defect claim, or prove one in order to achieve a settlement. The cost of disputing these claims is already high but armed with detailed records and visual data you can revisit every stage of every project in minute detail to ensure that no detail goes unnoticed and the quality of your work is preserved in digital records.

With a comprehensive visual record your team can audit an entire project or specific elements and stages of that project at any time in the future to look for errors, confirm compliance with regulations, and assess the quality of the work from specific sub-contractors.

7. Regulatory Compliance

The regulatory environment is more complex than ever. You need to be sure that your partners, sub-contractors, and other stakeholders all meet the standards that heavily regulated projects demand. A construction management solution, like our photo and video construction documentation platform, empowers you and your team to see your sites, anytime, anywhere, at every stage of construction. Furthermore, you’ll be building a visual record of construction that stays with the asset in perpetuity.

Transparency is critical to compliance, but it can be difficult to achieve without comprehensive construction monitoring. Capturing every detail doesn’t just allow you to manage workflow, it also provides you with a detailed visual record that you can share with regulators to confirm that you’re in compliance with the latest rules and regulations from ADA standards to health and safety. It’s even possible to deliver measurements remotely. Not only does this help you to avoid fines and delays, but it also streamlines your compliance process so that you don’t waste more of your valuable time reviewing site details with regulators or reconfirming compliance with your on-site teams.

8. Subcontractor Management

As job sites and portfolios expand, your team will need to bring in numerous new faces. With many teams and subcontractors at work on a large site, it’s often better to trust but verify. Remote construction monitoring services allow you to keep your finger on the pulse of every project wherever you are so that subcontractors still feel accountable to you and your team wherever you are. Armed with visual documentation of every phase and piece of your project you can ask detailed questions, review progress, and keep teams on-track at all times, not just when you’re able to be on site.

9. Facilities Management

The life of your project extends far beyond completion. Your work is built to last and the integrity and accountability of your process should be just as lasting. The visual documentation created by construction monitoring services allows you to not just observe and manage your site today, but to transfer first-hand knowledge of your projects to future facilities managers by preserving all your construction photos in an easily accessible platform. Facilities managers will have the ability to visually travel back in time, look behind walls and ceilings, and spot MEP without destructive verification. Future tenants and facilities managers will benefit from the efficiency of greater transparency and faster turn-around times on repairs and maintenance.

Summary

Remote construction monitoring helps you to deliver projects on-time and on-budget. OnSiteIQ’s 360° construction photo documentation platform makes it easy to monitor your sites remotely. Our team walks your site once a week so you can see it from anywhere. Sign up for a demo to see how OnSiteIQ will help you!